The 2014 Cherry Capital Comic Con

On Saturday, May 24th and Sunday, May 25th, the worlds of 1000 stories will collide at the 6th annual Cherry Capital Comic Con (‘C4’ for short). The Northern Michigan event is—according to organizer Mike Akerley—a space to fully “geek out” with hundreds of fellow comic book and pop culture fans. With displays from internationally-renowned and Michigan artists, the event is an interactive celebration of art, film and comic books. MyNorth’s Evan Perry spoke with Akerley about the upcoming convention.

What will a person see when they walk through the door at the Cherry Capital Comic Con?

It’s a different world. We have a ton of booths—187 tables, actually—and photo opportunities right when you walk in the door. The Artist’s Alley takes up about 2/3 of the entire floor, and writers and artists—many from Michigan—will all have booths displaying their work. The 501st Legion is also involved: they’re a group with Lucas-quality costumes from the Star Wars series →.

It’s a total family show. Kids 12 and under get in free, and we’ll have a toy booth and tons of memorabilia available for souvenirs. You can also come by on Friday and get a free sneak peak during our preview night.

Any panels or speakers?

A lot of our panels are tailored for writers and artists—we want to focus on how people who are in the industry have gotten into it, and how people outside of it can get in. One special panel with be with the people who made ‘Thaw of the Dead,’ a short zombie film that was made in Northern Michigan. They’re going to explain the process they went through to make that film.

Watch MyNorth’s Behind The Scenes Look Into ‘Thaw of the Dead’:

Another one we’re excited for will feature Kitty Buchholtz, a writer and publisher who grew up in Traverse City and whose work focuses on the region. [Joining that panel will be Buchholtz’s husband, John Buchholtz, who worked on Avatar and Happy Feet as an animator.]

How has the Cherry Capital Comic Con expanded since it first began?

The event has grown every year; we’ve always been in the Michigan Ballroom at the Grand Traverse Resort, and after squeezing more and more stuff into there over the years, we finally pulled the trigger on going into the Governor’s Hall.

Comic Cons are exploding across the country. They’d never had one in Grand Rapids before last year—when the city hosted two separate conventions. And Indianapolis just had one. These aren’t huge cities—it’s not like Los Angeles or Chicago—so the fact that they’re springing up all over the place shows how interested people are in these types of events.